The Malaysian Insight

THE closure of Malaysia’s international borders in March last year to curb the spread of Covid-19 has left between 400,000 and 500,000 Malaysians stranded in Singapore.

Many workers who commute between Johor and Singapore daily were caught off-guard by the decision, with many opting to travel back to Singapore the night before so as to not lose their source of income.

They also thought the border closure would only last weeks, or months at most.

Liew Chee Ming, 39, said he had travelled abroad for work many times before but the situation was different on March 17, 2020, as there was no time to prepare and to say goodbye to his family.

“I could remember that day, I was waiting in line to cross the Crossway and I was in tears because I was so anxious.

“Sometimes we’d hear some negative comments, saying that we chose to stay in Singapore and had to bear the consequences.

“They’re not wrong, but leaving home was a tough choice to make and we did it in order to survive, because we had no other choice,” said Liew, who works in logistics.

He said previous work trips were not nearly as difficult as he just had to mentally prepare himself to leave his family for a set amount of time before going home. Liew never thought he’d be away for a whole year.

“We still don’t know when we can go home yet, it still seems so far away,” he said.

For Simon Teng, 43, crossing the causeway for work was a daily affair before the first movement control order (MCO), which included closing the borders.

“At about noon on March 16 last year, the company’s human resources department told us to quickly pack up for travel. After that, I helped my children to pack their clothes and bought them some daily essentials before sending them to my mother-in-law.

“I reluctantly said goodbye to my children amid the rush while holding back tears, telling them it (border closure) won’t be long,” said the air-conditioner technician.

Teng said he had been remitting money to his mother in Sarawak, but she insisted that he keep it.

“I have not been able to return home (Sarawak) for three years now, I’ve lost precious bonding time with my mother and I could only wish her health and happiness.

“I thought about just going home, consequences be damned, but eventually thought it was better to just keep the money for my family instead of spending it on quarantine,” he said.

These days, Teng said, all he did was just work and sleep.

“There’s no going back to the happy days before the pandemic. Now I only hope I can immediately apply for two weeks’ leave when the borders are open again so that I can go back to Malaysia, take my family back to Sarawak so we can be reunited with my mother, and then visit my father’s grave,” he said.

Meanwhile, 40-year-old Eng Kok Siang said he had accumulated so much leave because he could not return home, and hopes that he can apply for an extended holiday to enjoy himself when he is able.

Eng, from Muar, Johor, said he had gone home only once or twice before the pandemic.

“The last time I went home was the first week of March, I wanted to be with my family for the weekend. Not long after I returned to Singapore, the MCO was imposed. I thought it would only be a couple of weeks, but it’s now been a year,” said Eng, who works in purchasing.

Although he had been unable to go home, Eng has been calling and is thankful that all his family are safe and healthy.

“Living alone in Singapore gets depressing sometimes, but I’m lucky to still have a job. So as long as there are no emergencies back home, I think I can only go home when the border restrictions are lifted,” he said.

Eng hopes that Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme can be sped up so that families can get back together, as the borders will only be opened once the objective has been met.

On March 16 last year, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who only assumed office two weeks previously, announced the first MCO from March 18 to March 31.

The country’s international borders were closed, tourists were not allowed, all non-essential services were to close while all offices and schools also closed.

After two months of MCO, the government relaxed restrictions – termed the conditional MCO – and there again to the recovery MCO in June.

However, after the Sabah elections in September, the country was hit with a third wave of infections, with the government tightening restrictions again to the CMCO.

With cases continuing to rise, the prime minister announced on January 11 this year that the MCO would once again be imposed.

As of March 5, restrictions have been loosened to the CMCO and RMCO level, as the Covid-19 situation is abating but international borders remain closed. – March 14, 2021.